“The loves of his life were partying and girls. Girls were Corrie’s passion,” said Martin.

His other loves included his car - on the night of his disappearance he drove into Bury St Edmunds in his BMW Z4 sports car – and his French bulldog cross puppy Louelle.

He also had a good relationship with his brothers, Darroch, 21, and Makeyan 25, though they fought growing up.

Corrie McKeague, left, with his brothers Makeyan and Darroch at Christmas in the mid-2000s

When Corrie left the Flex Nightclub in St Andrews St, Bury St Edmunds, in the early hours of September 24 he was spotted on CCTV in a drunken state, sleeping in a doorway for a couple hours before he disappeared.

Corrie was then spotted stumbling into the refuse site behind a Greggs never to be seen again. His dad, who was formally a bin man, remains convinced his body was picked up in a refuse lorry and taken to the Milton Landfill site more than 30 miles away.

After months of investigation police have now shifted their search the Milton Landfill where they strongly suspect his body lies, buried among thousands of tons of rubbish.

“He probably drunk too much” admits Martin. “So there is a point there. He probably over indulged. I have seen all the footage and he is definitely worse when he wakes up after sleeping.

“He was definitely street-smart…but his sleeping habits, sleeping on top of rubbish or whatever, I didn’t know Corrie to do that."

Corrie McKeague, left, with Trisha, Darroch and Martin

Martin says when Corrie, the middle child of the three he has with ex-wife Nicola Urquhart, was a boy they had a good relationship, but one which was not without its ‘ups and downs’.

Corrie, he said, didn’t take his parents’ divorce well, which happened when he was about 11 years old.

"He’d often act up and was hard to control, but was like any other kid I presume," says Martin. “He played rugby, like his brother.”

“After Nicola and I split up and I met Trisha she was a big part of the boys’ lives. It wasn’t a very good separation…I didn’t want her to leave me.”

He also worked off-shore for weeks at a time on the oil rigs and there is a sense he tried to compensate for this by finding common ground with a young Corrie.

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They had a love of motorbikes in common and movies such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

Martin continued: “Corrie was very good at impersonating characters off films. He had a T for impersonating.”

As he grew up it took a while for his son to get on his feet and when Martin and his new wife moved to Crete in 2010, he paid to support the upkeep of Corrie and his brother, who shared a flat in Dunfermline, Scotland.

When he joined the RAF he would also visit the couple several times a year.

Corrie McKeague, right, with his family in Crete

“Every time I came back I was at them and I cleaned the place, bought them stuff from clothes to beds, food, you name it,” he recalls.

Joining the RAF was the making of Corrie, says his dad – but did he always want to join the air force?

“No,” says Martin. “He wanted to be a [commercial] pilot but he was dyslexic and didn’t think he would be able to do it.

“When he was younger that was all he ever used to go on about, being a fighter pilot, and when he joined the air force it was his proudest moment.

“I flew back for his passing out parade when he joined the RAF. He was a gunner so number two regiment. He worked with the UN, I’m not too sure if people know this. He was committed."

For a time Corrie was stationed in France, Sudan [where he got badly sunburnt] and even completed a sailing course in Brazil.

He was well liked by his team, who Martin says he had the 'privilege' of meeting when they helped police hand out flyers for information about Corrie's disappearance in Bury St Edmunds.

Corrie McKeague, left, was known for his playful dress sense

When claims Corrie and his [now pregnant] girlfriend April attended swingers parties and known dogging sites emerged it left Martin and his wife dumfounded.

“I was taken aback by it,” said Martin. “We were told about his sex life on the day we were also told about April. I wish her all the best. Do I know if it is Corrie’s kid? No I don’t know.

“…Corrie knew [about his child] and he knew on September 18 [before he went missing].

“It has not been easy. There are a lot of things people don’t know... how hard this has been."